SC needs 1B to fix interstate bridges and keep traffic commerce rolling

COLUMBIA — With more than a thousand bridges on South Carolina’s interstates and major highways “rapidly approaching” a need for an overhaul, the state Department of Transportation is asking legislators for a $1 billion commitment to keep the state’s economic lifelines flowing. Many of the bridges are more than 60 years old, built using designs not intended to handle the quantity and hefty loads of today’s tractor-trailers, according to the DOT. The agency has identified 1,125 such bridges on the state’s main traffic arteries in “fair” or “poor” condition that could become a real problem if not repaired in the…